This invention relates to smoking articles such as cigarettes, and in particular to filters for smoking articles having longitudinally extending strands provided from tobacco-containing sheet-like materials.
Popular smoking articles such as cigarettes have a substantially cylindrical rod shaped structure which includes a charge of smokable material such as tobacco surrounded by a wrapper such as paper. It has become desirable to manufacture cigarettes having filters constructed from fibrous materials such as cellulose acetate. Such filters can provide unique taste characteristics to cigarettes as well as preventing tobacco particles from being drawn into the smoker's mouth during use of the cigarette.
Conventional methods for making cigarette filters involve the forming of rods from a source of cellulose acetate filter tow. Exemplary methods and apparatus are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,741,846; 4,132,189 and 4,283,998 to Greve et al.
Filter and mouthpiece elements for cigarettes containing tobacco materials have been proposed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,190,107 to Pohle; 2,792,006 to Marek; 2,804,874 to Visnick; 2,948,282 to White; 3,046,994 to Schur; 3,101,723 to Seligman et al; 3,219,041 to Bromberg; 3,428,050 to Kandel; 3,368,566 to Avedikian; 3,858,587 to Cavelli; 3,353,543 to Sproull et al; 3,361,139 to Inove; 3,713,451 to Bromberg; and 4,291,711 to Berger.
Filter elements containing creped paper are proposed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,251,365 to Keith et al; 3,900,037 to Horsewell et al; 3,320,960 to Molins; 2,669,995 to Troy; and 3,875,949 to Harendza-Harinxma et al.
Filter elements having spirally wound materials are proposed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,992,648 to Weiss; and 2,785,681 to Fessler. A filter element proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,563 to Morifugi et al includes fiber tow having a corrugated sheet wound therearound such that the grooves of the corrugated sheet extend in the longitudinal direction of the filter element. A cigarette filter element containing absorbent paper which is wound or folded substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cigarette is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,160 to Gerady.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,395,713 to Ent-Keller a filter element having corrugated or spirally shaped longitudinally extending paper membrane is proposed. A plurality of metal containing heat absorbing ribbons extend through a cigarette filter cartridge as proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,304,944 to Badertscher.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,001,709; 2,164,702 and 2,202,839 to Davidson propose cigarette mouthpieces manufactured from folded or laminated paper. Davidson also proposes cigarette mouthpieces made from a plurality of longitudinally extending strands of paper in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,039,298 and 2,168,474. Other types of filters from paper-like materials are proposed by Maroog in U.S. Pat. No. 2,849,932 and by Schanz in U.S. Pat. No. 2,852,987. Cigarette rods provided from strands of smokable materials are proposed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,084,697 to Eissmann; 3,230,958 and 3,299,895 to Dearsley and 3,589,373 to Hooper.
Many of the previously disclosed filter elements have not achieved any substantial commercial acceptance. The apparent absence of filter elements (other than those manufactured from cellulose acetate) from the marketplace may be due to a variety of factors. For example, cigarettes having such filter elements may be difficult or expensive to manufacture, or exhibit a poor or off taste.
It would be highly desirable to provide a smoking article such as a cigarette exhibiting the desirable characteristics of a filter cigarette while providing the user with a unique tobacco taste. In particular, it would be desirable to efficiently and effectively produce a unique filter element.